Yellow fever vaccination campaign begins in Darfur, 23 November

23 November 2012 - Thousands gathered in vaccination points in targeted localities in Darfur as Sudan’s Federal Ministry together with its health partners started a 12-day emergency response vaccination campaign. Some 2.2 million population in 12 prioritized localities are targeted during the vaccination campaign. The campaign is supported by the International Coordinating Group on Yellow Fever Vaccine Provision (YF-ICG), the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), and international nongovernmental organizations.

As of 21 November, the total number of reported cases has reached 537, including 127 deaths (case fatality rate of 23.6%). The outbreak has now affected 30 localities in Central, South, West, North, and East Darfur. Together with the Federal and State Ministries of Health, a mission from WHO headquarters and the Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is conducting outbreak field investigations to assess the epidemiological situation, as well as the spread of the disease. Assessment will help identify the next interventions in affected and surrounding areas. In addition, the US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU-3) based in Cairo, Egypt has deployed a team to Sudan to support laboratory analysis of collected samples as well as conduct on-the-job training sessions at the National Public Health Laboratory starting Saturday 24 November 2012.